THE glass ceiling may be all in the mind. A lack of ambition and self-confidence, rather than overt male sexism, is holding women back from senior management roles, according to research.

Women of all ages are likely to set their career goals lower than men, are more hesitant about putting themselves forward for top jobs and more frequently admit to self-doubt, according to the study by the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Experts believe a principal reason for women's lower ambition is that men are more likely to define their success in life in terms of achievements at work while for women, other factors, such as raising a family, play a far bigger role.

Some women may also have their ambition limited by worries about whether they can succeed in a male-dominated workplace, and by a greater innate aversion to risk-taking.

The findings come as Lord Davies prepares to report to the government on how to increase the female presence in British boardrooms. He is expected to recommend a voluntary code to raise numbers, while not ruling out quotas in the future.

Penny de Valk, the chief executive of the institute, said she had been particularly surprised that the gender gap in confidence and ambition was as wide in young managers as in middle-aged ones.

“With the younger generation, expectations are higher, but they are higher for men as well as women — so the gap is just as wide in the twenties and early thirties,” said de Valk. “There is still a fundamental confidence issue about what women think they will be able to do.”

She added, “In the absence of role models and many women in that senior management world, it becomes a vicious cycle. They adjust their expectations, they become self-limiting.”

The institute questioned 2,960 of its members, the youngest of whom were 18 and the eldest in their sixties. They were all in managerial roles, from the most junior to the most senior. When asked about their goals when they first started work, 50 per cent of women said they had expected to become managers, compared with 62 per cent of men. The gap was even wider — 15 percentage points — among those under 30.

While half of the women admitted to feelings of self-doubt, only 31 per cent of the men did. Women were also less likely to push themselves forward — only 14 per cent said they would apply for a job for which they were only partly qualified, compared with 20 per cent of men.

Decisions over how to balance children and careers create a watershed in women’s careers around the age of 30.

Carolyn McCall, the chief executive of easyJet and one of the most prominent British businesswomen, said recently, “There will come a point where they have to decide are they going to take a break, or are they going to stick with working all the way through, and those are quite difficult years when you are juggling. There have got to be structures that will allow them to do certain things benignly.”

The new research follows a controversial report earlier this year by Catherine Hakim, senior research fellow in sociology at the London School of Economics. She argued that the sex wars at work were largely over and the remaining gaps in male and female careers were dictated by choice rather than sexism. “Some women are career centred, determined and motivated, but it is just that they are in a minority,” said Hakim. “Men are more motivated to achieve in the public sphere.” She added, “I don’t think it is about the business environment. These days I don’t think women give a toss about whether they are in a male-dominated environment.”

Carol Doherty, 44, from Dereham, Norfolk, who is an NHS project support manager, agreed that men tended to be more obviously ambitious.“Some of my male colleagues are more confident, yes. They can stand up and talk to an audience better. I am still learning.”

Doherty, who has three sons and plans to marry her long-term boyfriend, Tony Trotman, added, “I started at a low grade. I enjoyed it, I did a bit of work as and when. My director saw potential and I got promoted. But I am not sure I am a directorate person. I probably know I won’t get there, but I am confident where I am. As long as I can show I am motivating people and working to the best of my ability, I am happy doing that and looking after my family.”

By contrast, Lydia Harrison, 27, a leadership development executive for the Institute of Chartered Accountants, said she was as self-assured as men and had a definite career plan, but she might have to compromise when she had children.